A Macroinvertebrate Search

ALDERFLY
AQUATICWORMS
CADDISFLY
CRANEFLY
CRAYFISH
DAMSELFLY
DOBSONFLY
DRAGONFLY
LEECH
MAYFLY
MIDGE
MOSQUITOLARVA
MUSSEL
RIFFLEBEETLE
SALMONFLY
SIDESWIMMER
SNAIL
STONEFLY
WATERPENNY

Macroinvertebrates are a diverse group of animals, ranging from insects and crustaceans to molluscs and worms. They have been around for about 500 million years and some were even living in our waterways before the dinosaurs! Different aquatic macroinvertebrates have different tolerance levels to water pollution. Some water critters are sensitive to pollution, which means if the waterway was to become polluted they will die or move elsewhere. Other critters are tolerant to pollution, meaning they can survive in polluted water. By sampling a waterway for macroinvertebrates and identifying what’s there you will get a good indication of water quality and habitat condition. This word search contains the names of the different kinds of macroinvertebrate one might find in a typical freshwater stream. Good Luck!

Try to find all 19 words on this board.

C B O K L C R A N E F L Y H R
J R S M R O W C I T A U Q A J
A V H O X H S X Q L S O V L P
E L T E E B E L F F I R P D L
D R A G O N F L Y D A E N E E
A A M I D G E S S L E B K R S
M Q B K D O B S O N F L Y F S
S X O G B C V T S H C E E L U
E Y C A D D I S F L Y F F Y M
L L E K G U C R A Y F I S H K
F F P M Q L B Y L F E N O T S
L Y B S I D E S W I M M E R P
Y A O A C L J C U D Y C R H U
L M N M K Y N N E P R E T A W
K S A L M O N F L Y F K D T D
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Answer Key for A Macroinvertebrate Search

X
Y
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1# # # # # C R A N E F L Y # #
2# # S M R O W C I T A U Q A #
3# # # # # # # # # # # # V L #
4E L T E E B E L F F I R # D L
5D R A G O N F L Y # A # # E E
6A # M I D G E # # L # # # R S
7M # # # D O B S O N F L Y F S
8S # # # # # # T # H C E E L U
9E Y C A D D I S F L Y # # Y M
10L L # # # U C R A Y F I S H #
11F F # # Q L # Y L F E N O T S
12L Y # S I D E S W I M M E R #
13Y A O A # # # # # # # # # # #
14# M N # # Y N N E P R E T A W
15# S A L M O N F L Y # # # # #
Word X Y Direction
ALDERFLY  142s
AQUATICWORMS  142w
CADDISFLY  39e
CRANEFLY  61e
CRAYFISH  710e
DAMSELFLY  15s
DOBSONFLY  57e
DRAGONFLY  15e
LEECH  148w
MAYFLY  214n
MIDGE  36e
MOSQUITOLARVA  88ne
MUSSEL  159n
RIFFLEBEETLE  124w
SALMONFLY  215e
SIDESWIMMER  412e
SNAIL  215ne
STONEFLY  1511w
WATERPENNY  1514w